All technologies envisioned to meet

1
Geosciences Research Initiative
Water
1860 1980
2100

• All technologies envisioned to meet
• future energy and environmental
• demands require advances in
• fundamental Geo/environmental sciences
• Fossil (oil, gas, coal)
• Nuclear
• Hydrogen
• Biomass
• Renewable (wind, solar geothermal)
• Water supply

?
(modified from R. E. Smalley, Rice
University BES Symposium 4/29/03)
Water
Hydrogen
2
Needs
WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!!

• Increasing evidence that we will soon face a
  resource gap in energy and environmental
  security
• Developing countries will be major consumers of
  conventional resources
• Environmental consequences of energy production
  will increase not decrease
• Result will be more reliance on political rather
  than technical solution
• Current mode of research in the geosciences will
  not provide breakthroughs in time to avoid major
  economic disruptions
• Must augment individual PI driven research with
  focused crosscutting research teams to transfer
  the results from lab to field
• Choose unifying topics for leveraged research
• Transfer results to end users of technology

3
Long Term Goals Develop fundamental
understanding of crosscutting, complex, coupled
processes that will permit imaging and
manipulation of the ecosphere for improved
management and exploitation sustainable
resource development (water, fossil fuels
CO2 Sequestration) environmental
remediation climate change prediction
safe nuclear waste disposal
Scaling
Process Prediction
Ecosphere Manipulation
4
Major Obstacles Energy production

• Accurate location and identification of fluids (
  fluid imaging)
• Phase and partitioning (oil, gas , brine, steam,
  etc)
• Quantity
• Transport mechanisms/rates
• Efficient extraction
• Drilling efficiency and location
• Drilling hazards
• Borehole life

5
Major Obstacles CO2 Sequestration

• Accurate location and identification of CO2 and
  transport mechanisms
• Phase and partitioning (oil, gas , brine, CO2,
  etc)
• Leakage paths and rates
• Efficient and cost effective containment
• Total volume and rates of injection
• Borehole/ reservoir life
• Monitoring requirements

6
Major Obstacles Nuclear Waste Disposal

• Accurate location and identification of fluid
  transport mechanisms and pathways
• Fast pathways versus matrix transport
• Quantity of fluids
• Transport/Retardation mechanisms
• Long term prediction of System response due to
  perturbation of the natural system
• Effect of waste package and mining/ Drilling

7
Major Obstacles Environmental Remediation

• Accurate location and identification of fluids
  and contaminants
• Phase and partitioning (DNAPL, water, gas ,
  metals, RN,. etc)
• Relative quantities
• Transport mechanisms
• Efficient extraction and/or remediation
• Manipulation of physical chemical and microbial
  conditions
• Coupled processes understanding
• Long term performance
• Leakage/containment

8
next generation sensor development and
emplacement imaging and multi-scale,
multi-sensor data integration model prediction
of processes over various length and time scales
and uncertainty quantification ecosphere
manipulation for sustainable resource development
and environmental remedation
Crosscutting Obstacles
9
Implementation Mechanism

• Major research facilities focused on critical
  crosscutting issues
• Eliminate major roadblocks for improving current
  and advanced energy production
• Balance adequate environmental protection with
  economic growth
• Use natural analogs for complex process
  understanding
• Draw on unique expertise and form critical mass
  through integrated Manhattan style projects
• Nano-scale to macro-scale
• Integrate diverse expertise to supply innovative
  and cost effective solutions

10
Major Impacts

• Drastic increase in oil and gas recovery
• Safe and economic CO2 sequestration
• Safe and defensible disposal of nuclear waste
  disposal
• Sound basis for management and protection of
  water resources
• Efficient and reliable environmental cleanup
• Reliable and defensible predictions of Climate
  Change
• Drastically improved use of renewable energy
• Sound fundamental basis for transition to
  hydrogen economy

11
Path Forward

• Form Advisory Committee
• Present concept to NRC workshop to target
  agencies
• Organize series of workshops on defining critical
  crosscutting issues
• Formulate proposal for submittal to
  participating programs.
• Initiate research teams in targeted research
  areas

12
Summary

• For the next 50 years we will be in a carbon
  constrained energy supply
• Broad implications on current domestic resources
  and economic vitality
• We must smoothly transition to other energy
  sources
• Optimize current domestic resources while
  developing new ones (no magic bullets)
• Fundamental geoscience research is critical for
  supporting every envisioned technology essential
  for this transition
• We are running out of time, new paradigms must be
  developed for meeting the challenge
• Link fundamental research to applied needs
• Form critical mass in selected projects to
  address major roadblocks